Family is something that can help you put yourself back together. They're the pillars that hold us up in the cruel world.
Everyone has two families. They have the blood relation, just some shared DNA that comes hunting for organs when in need to replace their own. The ones that can mould you into another drunk or druggie or slut who has no real purpose
Then there is the people you choose to be your family. In many, those people also fall into the category of sharing DNA, and can be lovely people who you occasionally punch. And there's your friends. The people who were there for you when no one else was.
In times of need, you find out who your true family is; who you can count on.
"Theo." I whispered. When he didn't respond, I tried shaking his body. He was sprawled out like a starfish, hugging me tightly to his chest as if I was his only link to the world we live in.
His soft brown hair was laid fluffy on his forehead, shielding the world from his bright green eyes. His breathing was annoying and his face kept scrunching like he was going to sneeze.
That's when I smacked him.
"What! Liv! You okay!?" He panicked as his eyes darting around the bedroom.
But when the sting of the slap kicked in, and his eyes caught mine, the glare was deadly.
Knowing what his act of revenge would be, I sprang up from on top of his strong hold and bolted off of the bed.
I wasted no time in sprinting down the stairs after I flung open my bedroom door, looking for a place to hide from the tickle monster.
Before I knew it, I was in the kitchen with a "fuming" Theo after me. I didn't even realise that Gio and Vito were in the room till I heard Vito shout over my screaming laughter,
"Liviana! What's with all the screaming?"
I stopped in my tracks as I heard Vito raise his voice. He always remains quiet and daring. Like a dangerous presence that filled the aura of the house. But at this moment and time, I wasn't afraid of him.
It was oddly...nice.
But before I could respond, I saw Theo still charging towards me. So for some reason, I though my safest spot would be in the arms of my oldest brother.
Vito himself.
He caught me like I weighed nothing and gave me a puzzled look.
Then Theo took this as his advantage and started to tickle my feet that were hanging in the air and the back of my knee.
My screams of laughter echoed through the room until Gio shouted.
"Theo! Stop!" Theo did so momentarily, but an evil smirk crawled on his face as he saw Gio stand up with his own replica.
Turning me so I was directly in front of them, Vito tightened his hold on me, not to hold me, but to keep me still.
I regret my decision of trusting him.
I was then devoured in tickles from Gio and Theo who had made my eyes water from laughing so much.
I was laughing so much I thought I would explode.
I was laughing so much I thought all my trouble had left me.
I was laughing so much I felt at peace.
But all good things must come to an end.
When my teary eyes cleared up after Theo and Gio stopped their brutal attack, I looked at the kitchen island to see Andrea, Rina and Leo stood there with smiles stretching ear to ear.
But then there was Luca.
His face was a mixture of blue and black. Eye swollen shut and cuts grazing his cheek and lip.
His left cheek held together by recent stitches. His neck sporting a Theo size hand print, shining a deep purple.
"Will you fucking shut up." Was all he said as he munched away on his cocoa pops.
He received a glare from everyone in the room, and Theo let out an animalistic growl. Surprisingly, so did Vito when he felt me cower into his strong chest.
That was when Luca's face paled more, making the bruises look more prominent.
Silence engulfed the room as everyone's attention fell on Luca and Vito. It was oddly comforting to have Vito supporting me, especially against the brother he's known his whole life.
"Liv, lets go get ready." Rina broke the silence, taking my small hand in her delicate one as she guided me up the stairs to my bedroom.
"Where are we going?" I asked as she handed me a black tank top and a pair of white shorts. I left the bathroom door cracked open so I could talk to her while I got changed.
"Well it's a warm day today so I though we could go and get some ice cream." My ears perked up at the mention of the flavoured treat, and I started getting changed a whole lot faster.
"Where at?" I asked.
"I know a place." Was all she said.
I changed into the clothes and added a pair of black ankle socks and a pair of black converse. The shorts showed the white scars that littered my thighs, and the tank top showed the faint cuts that were across my wrists. But there was only six as I just went in the same spot over and over again... I regret ever type of self inflicted harm I ever did.
I know there are people who suffer, and use it as a way of feeling something again, but now that I've stopped, I realised I was only hurting myself more. Making myself become a shell of who I was.
I don't ever want to go back. I pulled myself out of that part of my life with the help of Josh who found out.
If you suffer from self harm, please talk to someone about it. Things may be difficult but they always have to even out. Please don't hurt yourself because you are perfect the way you are.-Sreader2014.
"I'm ready." I said as I emerged from the bathroom. I didn't fail to notice how her face paled slightly as her eyes scanned the previous wounds of my body. As weird as it sounds, it doesn't bother me, it actually makes me feel cared for that someone would be concerned at the scars that my body bared.
"Let's go then." She said. Rina wore a red sundress littered with white flowers that ended mid thigh, and a pair of white heals.
We made our way down the stairs and to the front door, but I was stopped by the sound of Gio calling Rina and I from the kitchen.
Rolling her eyes, Rina strutted into the kitchen with me trailing behind.
"Yes Dad?" She said as she folded her arms, annoyed that we couldn't sneak out.
"Where are you going?" He asks her.
"I'm taking Liv out for a few hours." She responded. From the corner of my eye, I saw Theo clench his jaw, annoyed that he couldn't spend the day with me again. Leo looked uninterested as he munched away on his pancakes, Andrea gave us a sceptical look from over the rim of his smoothie, Vito raised an eyebrow to Rina as if he were challenging her, and Luca just rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath.
"Where?" Theo asks, concern lacing his tone.
"To Maria's ." Rina answered. The other just nodded their head in understanding, but Theo still sat there waiting for her to elaborate.
"She's a close friend of the family." Andrea clarified for him.
"Call me if you need anything." Theo told me. He's always over protective.
"Right then, bye guys." Rina said before leaving the kitchen.
I ran, as best as I could, up to Theo, gave him a hug and then went outside to find Rina leaning against an Audi R8. The car was white with the roof down and black leather seats.
I hesitantly got in the passenger seat while Rina got in the driver's seat.
"It's a half an hour drive, I promise I won't go above fifty mph." She tells me. I gave her a nod, silently thanking her for the warning.
Throughout the car ride, we listened to the radio in the car. I learnt she has a slight obsession with Adele, but like who can blame her? Adele is a celebrity to celebrities.
Half an hour later we pulled up to a cute little café. It had outdoor seating filled with people, and inside had a few customers inside as well. I followed my sister through the seating area all the way to the counter in the café.
Behind the register stood a small woman, even smaller than Megan. She had dark brown hair that ended at her shoulders, and a pair of shining green eyes and dark skin. She looked to be in her late 40s, early 50s. She looked like that woman who you can count on everyday, and a bit familiar.
"Maria!" Rina called out as she climbed, yes climbed, over the counter to hug the small woman.
"Katerina, my darling how are you?" The woman who I now know as Maria asked as she accepted the embrace of my sister.
"Good, thank you. How about you? The café? The boys?" Rina responded.
"The café is doing good dear. But I am just about ready to strangle those boys. Miles keeps breaking glasses and Logan is still getting into fights." Maria seethes. Is she bipolar or something. She went from sweet to scary in 0.5 seconds.
That's why she looks familiar, she's related to Miles.
"They were at my house a few days ago, they're not too bad." Rina tries to reason, but Maria just waves her off.
"Anyway, what would you like?" Maria asks as she takes out her notepad.
"Well, I came here to introduce you to my little sister." Rina says.
Maria's gaze snapped to over the counter where she saw me stood there with a smile on my face. Then she threw her notepad and pen in the air behind her and practically bolted around the counter and hugged the life out of me.
"My god you are beautiful darling." She commented as she looked me up and down.
"Thank you." I blushed as she moved back to Rina who had climbed back over the counter.
"Well, it is lovely to finally meet you..."
"Liv." I answered.
"Liv? Oh, your the girl who got Logan so worked up." My blush deepened at her words while Rina gave her a questioning look.
"What do you mean?" Rina asked.
"When the boys came home a few days ago Logan was so angry I had to drop him off at the gym for hours, Miles said Luca got his sister hurt and they had to hold Logan back from beating up Luca." Maria clarified.
I barely know they guy and he's already tried to beat up my asshole of a brother for me.
"Oh, well. Never mind." Rina said as she squinted her eyes slightly.
"Right, what can I get you girls?" Maria asked.
"Um, I'll have a chocolate ice cream please, and Liv?"
"A strawberry ice cream please." I added. Maria nodded her head, still smiling and wrote down the order.
"I'll send someone over to your usual table in a few." Maria said as she went back behind the counter.
Rina then guided me to a table outside in the corner of the café patio and sat down in a comfy cushioned seat. We just sat in peaceful silence for a few minutes, then a waitress came outside with our two ice creams and two glasses of lemonade I have no doubt Maria added to the order.
When she left, I dug straight into my ice cream, not holding back from the cold goodness that lay before me.
I was broken out of my trance when I heard Rina say "Hello Logan."
Turning to my left, I not only saw my sister, but behind her was the boy with brown eyes and fluffy brown hair. He was dressed in a black leather jacket with a white vest underneath and a pair of black jeans.
"Hey Rina, nice to see you again Liv." He smirked. Then when he looked at me properly, a little grin broke out on his face.
I gave Rina a quizzed look, to which she responds by tapping the end of her nose. Catching on to what she meant, my eyes widened and I immediately wiped the strawberry ice cream off the end of my nose, blushing furiously.
"So Logan." Rina said, diverting his attention back to her. And it worked, except when he kept looking back at me, still smirking. "How's things been?"
"Good, I've been helping mom with the café lately, but she kicked me out for putting salt in someone's tea instead of sugar."
I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my mouth when I heard this, asking, "Why?"
"He was a dick." He shrugged. "But besides that nothing much, the car had to go to the shop though so I only have the bike."
"What happened to your car?" Rina questioned him.
"I smashed some guy's head through the window cause he tried to start a fight." He shrugged once again.
"All you do is get in trouble." Rina chuckled.
"LOGAN! Your late!" We heard the voice of Maria yell all the way from behind the counter inside the building.
"And your mom just proved my point." Rina added, chuckling more. Logan is Maria's son? So Miles is his brother?
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Bye Rina. See you later Liv." he smirked once again before heading inside.
I watched as he went inside and gave Maria a hug after she scolded him for being late once again.
I heard Rina mutter something under her breath, but it was so quiet I couldn't tell what it was. We then just chatted for the rest of the morning until it was time to drive back home.
As we slowed down to a stop at a red light, I saw her turn towards me in the corner of my eye.
"Do you want to talk about last night?" She asked.
I froze slightly, before rapidly shaking my head no.
"You sure, it must be hard keeping secrets. I know how difficult it can be." She said.
"I-It's not something I like to talk about." I whispered.
"How about I tell you something, and when I'm done, you can tell me if you feel comfortable?" I nodded my head slightly, sceptical of what to do.
"I'm a lesbian. I've got a girlfriend called Amelia, and we've been together for five years now. Our family has no idea besides Vito." She told me.
"How come you never told them?" I asked.
"I guess I was just always scared of what they would say..." She mumbled.
I waited a moment, until I said what had been on my mind all day. "I've done things, and ever since then, I've had it stuck in my mind that I am a terrible sister. When Luca said it yesterday, I guess I just broke down."
"Liv, no matter what you do, you can never be a terrible sister. You're far too sweet and kind to be." Rina tried to comfort me. Key word: tried.
"You don't know what I've done Rina..." Was all I said before we both fell into silence.
So much for a nice day...